Have you ever felt guilty spending money? There was a time when I was working hard to build a savings account, and every time I swiped my card I felt guilty that the money wasn’t being used to fund that account. Truthfully, there are times when we need to spend. We need to spend money on our basic necessities including groceries, gas, living expenses and even some shopping.
Therefore, my goal in sharing these savings apps is to help your money stretch further. Yes, saving money is essential, but it also is important to explore how to stretch the money we do spend just a little bit more. These six apps will help you do that.
GetUpside (save on gas)
Get Upside is an app that allows you to save money on your gas purchases. It’s really simple to use, and since I’ve been using it for a couple of months now, I’ve saved nearly $13. Here’s how it works.
- Download the GetUpside app. Once you download the app, you see all of the gas stations nearby that are offering cash back.
- Claim an offer at a gas station near you.
- Fill your tank & pay with any debit or credit card at the pump. This is important because you will not earn cash back on cash transactions.
- Snap a picture of your receipt and upload it within the GetUpside app so you can earn your cash back.
That’s it! You’ll pay the gas prices on the station sign, but GetUpside will give you cash back, and you can cash out anytime via PayPal, a store gift card or check.
Use the code X2VBD to get a $0.15/gallon bonus on your first gas purchase.
Honey (save on online shopping)
Honey is a plugin for Chrome, Firefox and Opera browsers that helps you save on your online shopping. At checkout, Honey automatically searches all available coupon codes and applies the best available one to your purchase. This helps you rest easy knowing that you are getting the best possible deals.
Get started with Honey here and you will be on your way to automatic savings!
Rakuten (save on shopping)
Rakuten, formerly Ebates, is a free site that pays you back for shopping. When you open a Rakuten account, you shop through your Rakuten app/website and then you will receive a check in the mail with the cash back that you earned. In some cases, you can even earn cash back in store as well.
This is a great way to build a savings cushion doing the spending that you would have done anyway. The key is not to spend more than you would have in order to earn more cash back. If this seems like it is small, you must remember that every little bit counts. Even if you earn $100 per year with cash back, that is $100 more than you would have otherwise contributed and it is also not more directly coming out of your pocket (assuming you aren’t spending to save).
If you would like to earn a $10 bonus just for signing up, then use my invite link and spend $25. Don’t worry, it’s free!
Ibotta (save on groceries)
Ibotta is a free cash back rewards and payments app. Think of this like coupons without the Sunday paper! The Ibotta app gives you rebates on everyday purchases such as groceries, retail items, beer/wine, and more. You can earn cash back both online or in store. Once you earn $20 in rebates, you can cash out to your PayPal or Venmo account, or redeem it for a gift card to one of several stores like Amazon, Target or Walmart.
Pull up the app before you go shopping and select the offers that you want to use. You also can scan products to have Ibotta check to see if there is an available offer. This unlocks the savings for you.
Once you have purchased those items, then snap a picture of the receipt and upload into Ibotta to earn your cash back. Some stores have the Ibotta platform integrated into their store loyalty program, so once you unlock your Ibotta offer, if you use your store loyalty card, Ibotta is automatically applied.
In addition to in-store shopping, you also can earn cash back on your entire purchase by paying using the Ibotta app and shopping online using the Ibotta browser plug in.
Use the code “tlcinca” to get started with Ibotta today!
Swagbucks (save on online shopping)
Swagbucks is a site that helps you save when shopping online and it pays you in the form of points (Swagbucks) that can be converted into cash back by completing surveys and searching the web using its browser powered by Yahoo!.
This is stuff most people are doing online anyway, so why not earn cash back doing it?
Once you earn points in the form of Swagbucks, you can redeem your points for free gift cards to places like Amazon or Walmart, to name a few, or get cash back from PayPal.
Restaurant.com (save on dining out)
Restuarant.com is a site that sells gift certificates to local restaurants at a deep discount. Prior to going out to eat, search the restaurants in the area, pick which one you want to visit, and then purchase the gift card. Restaurant.com has great everyday discounts, but sometimes they have sales on their already discounted gift certificates. You can either search “Restaurant.com online coupon codes” or shop on your computer to leverage the Honey browser plugin to automatically get discounts. For example, I’ve seen $10 gift certificates for as low as $2. I’ve found that this is a great way to try local restaurants for way less risk, because if you don’t like it at least you didn’t spend a fortune. Plus, who knows, you may even find a gem or few that you love. I know I have over the years!
